The First Defeat
by Glorificus 001
Summary: Angelus is out and about - but will Angel ever get back? Angel S4 Buffy S7 - B/A B/Aus
1. Chapter 1

Title: The First Defeat

Summary: Angelus is out and about - but will Angel ever get back?

Disclaimer: Not mine. It's Joss'. Which sucks but we all must deal.

Rating: M same as the show – I'll let you know if it changes

Feedback: Yes please, my first Fanfic so please go easy on me but constructive criticism is always welcome

Timeline: Just after Angelus is brought back in Season 4 and just after Buffy kills the Ubervamp in Season 7

Spoilers: Season 1 - 4 Angel and Season 1 - 7 Buffy

--

Angelus was sitting alone in his cage, his big lonely cage, the Scooby wannabes thought they were so smart with their big plan, bring him back, he'll tell them the information they wanted to know, then they'd shove the soul back up his butt and they'd be done. He laughed to himself well weren't they in for a few surprises, there was no way he was just going give up the information he had, not without something in return. The question was - what did he want? He could say he wanted something utterly ridiculous that would have them chasing their tails, something that would take them ages to get, leaving him with more time to figure out how to escape from his cage, but then the world could be doomed by then and that's no fun while trapped in a cage. He couldn't make it too easy either, don't wanna be giving up his only bargaining chip too soon, cos then he'd have no escape plan or the time to put it into action. He could hear them, upstairs with his vampiric hearing, he could hear almost everything going on in the hotel, something they constantly forgot around soul boy, all well, their mistake, at the moment they were putting Angel's soul in the safe and complaining that their precious soul boy was gone and Wesley was being all high and mighty telling them to be cautious around him and not let their guard down, it was laughable. But there was still the question of what did he want, he could make them do anything for the information just short of letting him out, so he needed something that could work to his advantage if he played his cards right, but he'd also been locked up behind soul boy for a while so what ever it was, it had to be fun, guess he'll just have to think of it later it wasn't like he was giving his information up any time soon anyway.

Oh great interrogation time, this should be fun…

"Angelus" Wesley greeted as he stood in front of Angelus' cage

"Wes. Why the long face? Aren't you happy to see me?"

Wesley rolled his eyes "Should I be?"

"Well if it wasn't for you and your shaman friend, I wouldn't be here. I'm feeling the love"

"The choice was Angel's"

Angelus was laughing on the inside _'sure it was, but with so much pressure from his so called 'friends' I think he had some trouble saying no, knowing you wouldn't let the issue drop'_ "Angel-schmangel. You're the man with the brain"

"You're comfortable?" Wesley could just see that line of conversation going in the wrong direction so quickly changed the subject.

"Nice acoustics. Wouldn't hate a chair"

Wesley thought it wasn't a bad idea, since it looked like this could take awhile and pulled up a chair for himself just outside the red perimeter line on the floor, outlining how far Angelus could reach outside the cage "You'll have to forgive the accommodations. The last time you were free, you terrorized Sunnydale"

"That Slayer… she's a pistol" Angelus smiled, he just realised what he wanted, but since he was having fun with Wesley at the moment he'll wait for the next interrogation session to bring it up, don't wanna speed up the process of getting his soul back if he can't escape the cage.

"I've imagined this moment many times. Years of study… research. I've read everything ever written about you"

"Stop, I'm blushing" _'bet he hasn't read the buff's diary, more insightful then any of the shit he's read, I'd know, I've read those books plus the diary, drawing her picture wasn't the only thing I had time for'_

"To be one-on-one with the legendary Angelus… as a former watcher, it's a high point"

"Buttering me up, getting me all relaxed… not the most innovative interrogation technique but… okay, I'll play.

"Is it a game?"

"Hey, open book. Anything you want to know. How sweet that virgin gypsy tasted, the special smell of a newborn's neck. My first nun – now that's a great story."

"We could start there" Though he sounded like starting anywhere else would have been better for him.

"Don't be coy, Wes. You're just dying to know about the big beastie. Fire away"

"All right. Did you know the Beast?"

'_ha like I'm gonna give that up on the first date'_ "Well, now that's a question. Not a great question. Not even an insightful question. Not a Wyndam-Pryce-worthy question"

"If you knew the Beast, why wouldn't Angel remember?"

Angelus rolled his eyes "I don't know. Maybe he doesn't remember the good times. Maybe he won't let himself. So like him… Here's one for you. What's the deal with Angel and the Raider's of the Lost Ark?"

"The movie?"

"The perfect-day fantasy he came up with. Caves, booby traps… the requisite phallic sword."

"He fought the Beast in the fantasy?"

"Real candy-ass."

"The Beast?"

"Angel. Not enough to be the hero. Couldn't be happy unless the whole gang's pitching in." _'man, soul boy really was a candy-ass, just can't get over that's me with a soul, they complain about me without my soul, how do people not complain about me with one?'_

"So he killed the Beast in his fantasy?"

"Had to, to get what he wanted. We all want something, Wes. It's the way of the world. Everybody's got an agenda." _'And once you're so frustrated about this information and you don't have any other ideas on how to get it, I'll tell you what I want for it. Hint: blonde, hot, easy to upset (always a turn on), your former charge, and oh I don't know - my mate? enough hints or are you really that slow?'_

"And you're going to tell me mine…"

"You want to come down here, get your vital stats on Lava Boy, play the big hero…"

"I want to know how to kill the Beast. It has nothing to do with being a hero.

"Sure it does. But why now? Can't be because there's an apocalypse coming. Always one of those around the corner."

"Enlighten me."

"Foul rag and bone shot to the heart. That's where you live."

"Meaning?"

"You want to impress the girl. Move in, get her to love you. After a couple of days of chocolate-covered cherries…" Angelus slammed his hands against the bars getting a rise out of Wesley who raises the crossbow he brought down with him "… you'll bend her over the kitchen counter and--"

"Is that supposed to rattle me?" Wesley quickly interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest of that sentence.

"Kind of bony for my taste but… different strokes."

"The Beast called you an adversary."

"I bet he loves to rub that shiny bald head against her soft milky skin. Mmmm… good."

Wesley looked back worriedly at the camera, knowing everybody was gathered around the monitor watching the conversation taking place in the basement. "Can we move on now?"

Angelus just laughed at him "I'm just getting started. I'll tell you this. All that digging you've been doing on the horny giant? Wrong place"

"And the right place?"

"I could tell you… but it wouldn't be sporting" _'plus I just don't want to'_

"But you were adversaries, you and the Beast"

"A guy like me… friends, enemies… hard to keep track"

"If he was an enemy, I'd be doing you a favour by destroying him"

_'hmm giving Wes an answer on that would be giving information… no thanks'_ "you know, you're not fooling anyone. Get some new clothes, cool haircut, hit the gym… you're still the same loser none of the other kids wanted to sit with at lunch"

"Yet you're locked in that cage and I'm out here"

'_Big deal it's a cage, prefer it to being locked up inside Soul boy'_ "So? You got no leverage. What are you going to do? Kill me?"

"If I have to"

Angelus couldn't have held back the laughter even if he tried "Wait till they drop Wes then try that line again"

"I'll put your soul back. You won't talk? No problem. We'll bring Angel back and be no worse off than we were"

"Making you a failure again"

"You want to waste my time, you can rot down here" Wesley got up and started to walk away, but Angelus decided he deserved some fun and messing with everyone's minds was always fun

"Nice stamina, Wes. No wonder Fred's not interested"

"Whatever your connection to the Beast, clearly you don't know anything that can help us"

"Is this the part where I get defensive, start talking to prove you wrong? What else you got?"

Wesley stopped walking away and turned to face Angelus, yes unfortunately that was exactly what was suppose to happen so he decided to change tactics "You must hate it. That Angel fights evil"

Of course, Angelus had his own tactics "Eats you up inside, doesn't it? Seeing all those idiots flock around him, calling him a champion. Anyone ever call you a champion?

"I do my part"

"Right, like letting Lilah suck Lorne's brain. Or here's an oldie but a goody… Faith. Good job being her Watcher. She turned out to be a peach"

"And you managed to get your soul back, not once but twice, saving the world several times in the process. Nobody's perfect"

"Then there's kidnapping the fruit of my loins. Smooth"

"He survived"

"I guess you just can't understand the special bond between dad and son, given that your own father's ashamed of you"

"And Conner's ashamed of you. The universe's way of maintaining order, I guess"

"That twerp really gives me the creeps. You?"

"In Cordelia's vision, you and the Beast were standing on a field--"

"Oh, god, yeah! Let's talk about Cordy, shall we? Huh? Now there's a rack to write home about. Too bad about the personality, though. Yap, yap, yap, yap. Oh, god… Angel. Oh, Angel… we can't. I love you but you were so bad. You ate babies. Chicks… Which do you think is worse, Wes? Stealing my kid like you did or banging him… like Cordelia? At least you thought you were doing the right thing. Hey, who's a guy gotta kill to get a drink around here, huh?

Wesley knew he wasn't going to get anything out of him yet so went upstairs to get him some blood while Angelus walked to the back of his cage and sat down, loving the amount of problems his talk with Wesley would have stirred up, he knew everyone upstairs was listening, which made it all the sweeter, as he waited for his blood he thought about all the things he was going do to his mate when she finally reached L.A.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The First Defeat

Summary: Angelus is out and about - but will Angel ever get back?

Disclaimer: Not mine. It's Joss'. Which sucks but we all must deal.

Rating: M same as the show – I'll let you know if it changes

Feedback: Yes please, my first Fanfic so please go easy on me but constructive criticism is always welcome

Timeline: Just after Angelus is brought back in Season 4 and just after Buffy kills the Ubervamp in Season 7

Spoilers: Season 1 - 4 Angel and Season 1 - 7 Buffy

Author Note: I'm not to keen on Cordy, actually I hate her with Angel so if I'm a little harsh on her I'm very sorry to Cordy lovers, so just in-case I come off a little harsh a warning now, Cordy bashing ahead.

* * *

So far Angelus had been having heaps of fun and that's saying something since he's trapped in a cage. He'd had a run in with Fred and Gunn, capturing Fred and using her to taut Gunn. After waking up from a tranquiliser induced sleep from that round of laughs, he'd heard Gunn and Wesley fighting over Fred, no doubt his early conversation with Wesley had helped in stirring up their feelings and bringing out their inner violence towards each other, just a bonus really that Fred got in the cross-fire in his opinion. Now he was in the middle of messing with his son's head, which he was thoroughly enjoying til they got interrupted by Cordelia and he realised she was here to save him, all well he'll screw with his mind later.

"Yeah go to your room, mama's boy" Ok he just had to get that last gab in… now what's this, Cordy's planning to stay and chat, well this should be good

"Cordy, Cordy, Cordy… just couldn't stay away"

"It's been a long day and I think you've done enough damage"

"So… No hug?"

"You and I are going to make a deal"

'_Oh this should be funny'_ "Tough. Did you practice that in front of the mirror a few times? Let me guess. You want to know about the Beast?"

"Everything you know"

"Oh. And in return, I get what? I wouldn't mind a car. I hear the new Mustang is nice"

"Something better"

Angelus knew what was coming, so he prepared himself now not to laugh when she said it "What's a better ride than a Mustang?"

"Me"

It didn't work; he still laughed "You, why would I want you"

But even with the laughing Cordelia held firm, she was going to get that information, if she could get it by screwing someone she's wanted to screw for ages… not really a problem, besides no male in their right mind would turn down Cordelia Chase "That's the offer, no more stalling, no more games, you tell us what you know, you get me"

'_Wow she is dense, maybe the laughing wasn't a bigger enough_ _hint'_ "Must be some confusion, you took out the soul, I still have a brain"

"Then use it. The Beast, the darkness… the world is falling apart. We're out of time. We're out of ideas. You're the end of the line"

'_Oh, my, god… she really is that dense, ok time to spell it out for her'_ "Look I don't want you, I never did and as a matter of fact neither did soul boy, he was just following what everyone told him he was feeling so they'd get off his back about it. So what you're trying to propose here - stop now, before I barf"

Cordelia's face had turned red with anger, how dare he turn her down, well there had to be something he'd give up the information for, this was getting frustrating and it showed in her voice "Well then what do you want? Because we're not waiting around forever, either you tell us what we want to know or we put your soul back"

"There is only one person I'll give up this information for, I want exactly what you were offering" Cordelia smiled she knew he was just messing with her "except from Buffy" It was Angelus' turn to smirk at the look on Cordelia's face it was passed rage now

"BUFFY, YOU WANT BUFFY OVER ME?"

"Yes, I believe that's exactly what I said"

"But, why, she's been out of your life for years now, she has nothing to do with this and there is no way she is better then me, she's just a bitchy, cry-baby, annoying slayer who isn't even that good at it because she dies all the time, that shaman's soul removal thing definitely did something to your head because you've gone completely insane"

"First off, Buffy is way better then you, second, she has never been out of my life she is my mate, third call my mate names like that again and hell will seem like a vacation to you and fourth and this is just to rub your nose in it, her and Angel talk all the time, through phone calls, e-mails, you have nothing on her Cordelia and I suggest if you want the information your saying you so desperately need, you'd call her" Angelus turned and walked deeper into his cage sitting with his back against the wall, loving the expression on Cordelia's face, soon though she snapped out of her shocked gaze and rushed up the stairs. Good, so his mate would be here soon, he couldn't wait for her to get here.

--

In the lobby, Cordelia and Wesley were having a heated discussion, well… argument, after their discussion cough argument cough it was decided that the information that Angelus held ransom was more important then Cordelia's case of, they just didn't need her help. So Wesley was off the Sunnydale to bring the slayer to L.A.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The First Defeat

Summary: Angelus is out and about - but will Angel ever get back?

Disclaimer: Not mine. It's Joss'. Which sucks but we all must deal.

Rating: M same as the show – I'll let you know if it changes

Feedback: Yes please, my first Fanfic so please go easy on me but constructive criticism is always welcome

Timeline: Just after Angelus is brought back in Season 4 and just after Buffy kills the Ubervamp in Season 7

Spoilers: Season 1 - 4 Angel and Season 1 - 7 Buffy

Author Note: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, I had my trial exams to do, I think I did ok but fingers still crossed.

Author Note 2: I like Spike so the little jab at him at the end I'm sorry, but this will not be a spike unfriendly story.

Special Thanks to my wonderful beta Kim who helps me correct stuff in my writing and nags me when I don't start writing new chapters lol

Beta's Note: lol I'm not that wonderful, but will promise to all of you out there reading that I'll nag more as I'm addicted to this as well. P.S. reviews kick her into gear more than I can, I try my best though

* * *

"Nice hotel" Buffy said to Wesley as they entered the Hyperion, looking around she immediately spotted the monitor where she could see Angelus getting up from his sitting position on the floor, walking towards the front of the cage, looking where she assumed was the stairs, so he felt she was here.

"yes it is quiet lovely isn't it" seeing Fred and Gunn sitting at the bottom of the steps leading upstairs he started making introductions "Buffy, this is Fred and Gunn" gesturing to each one in turn "Fred, Gunn this is Buffy"

"Hi it's really nice to meet you" Fred gave Buffy her biggest smile; she'd heard lots about Buffy and couldn't wait to get to know her better.

Though Gunn did something neither Fred nor Wesley were expecting, he went up and hugged Buffy "Hey girl, how you doing, man who ran your face into that door knob?"

"It's so good to see you, uh trust me you don't want to know, lets just say it was a vampire but 10 times more in everything, strength, speed… ugliness" Buffy giggled but stopped when she saw Angelus on the monitor out of the corner of her eye, he was looking directly at the camera and making a monition with his index finger to come down to the basement "Speaking of vampires, where's the door to the basement, might as well go down and say hi" she said while dumping her bag on the couch

"It's the door right through there" Wesley said, pointing in the direction of the basement door

"Thank you"

"Want any back-up Buff?"

"No I should be fine, thank you anyway Gunn" They watched as she disappeared through the basement door shutting it behind her. They hurried over to the monitor to watch the conversation between vampire and slayer take place, only to watch the monitor go black as Buffy turned off the camera, sighing they all went back to there research on the Beast.

--

Angelus could feel her, she was getting closer, the feeling that he always had around her, soul or no soul, was getting stronger with every passing minute, he smiled to himself, his mate was almost here. When he heard the lobby door open he knew it was her, getting up from the floor he walked to the front of the cage knowing Buffy would be down soon, plus not that he couldn't hear from the floor but he wanted to hear everything that was said in the lobby as clearly as possible. Listening to the greetings going on upstairs he was surprised when he heard Gunn greet her, he didn't know they knew each other, the surprise was quickly replaced with anger and a low growl at his last comment _'man who ran your face into that door knob?'_ who'd dared to hurt his mate? That was completely unacceptable, only he was allowed to hurt her, that was his right as her mate. Shifting out of 'game face' as Buffy liked to call it he looked directly at the camera and started signalling Buffy down to him, knowing she'd see the monitor soon and he knew she had when he heard her next words _'speaking of vampires…'_ Angelus stayed patiently waiting, leaning against the bars waiting for Buffy to come down, when she did and stood completely before him after having turned the camera off, he grabbed hold of the bars and he shifted back into game face and growled low at what he saw. Her face was badly bruised and she had a cut over her left eye, she walked with a barely detectable limp but he'd seen it and she was hunched over ever so slightly like if she stretched out she'd hurt her stomach.

"Who?" Angelus wanted to know so the second he got out of the cage he could rip out their spinal cords for harming his mate.

Buffy knew exactly what he was referring to, but was confused by this sudden protectiveness Angelus was demonstrating towards her "Some ubervamp, apparently they're vamps that other vamps fear, Tork-ins or something like that"

"Turok Hans? But they're extinct"

"Yeah that's it; the first evil decided it doesn't want them to stay extinct though. So it brought one back or something, almost died fighting it, which kinda ticked me off so I went and beat the shit out of it, its dead now" She smiled a little at the thought of how pissed off the first evil must be now its pet was dead.

Angelus smirked at how happy she seemed over that fact "So Buff, you haven't called, you haven't e-mailed, I'm hurt" Angelus put on his best hurt face and placed a hand over his supposedly wounded heart.

Buffy just rolled her eyes "You know, communication is a two way street, besides with all the apocalypses about, I think we've both been a little busy don't you think"

"Never too busy for you Buff" he smirked at her, looking her over from head to foot with lust in his eyes as he leaned against the bars of his prison.

"Whatever" Buffy wasn't going to fall for his tricks this time round, she was going to stay level headed and not let him get the best of her, she knew how he played his games and instead of being a controllable and predictable piece in his playing field this time, she was going to be an active player and beat him at his own game "I'm here for information, not for chit chat, now spill"

"Come on Buff, you know getting the information you need from me isn't going to be that simple" Angelus while looking calm and cocky on the outside, smiled on the inside, his slayer had grow up in his time away, instead of being the prey, she had become a predator in her own right. Good, the bigger the challenge the more fun he'd have.

"Wesley said and I quote 'Angelus will only give us the information if you're the one questioning him' unquote. I'm here and I'm asking, so why aren't you talking?" If she rushed him now, instead of later they might get their information on the Beast sooner, then again because she was trying to rush him he could decide to take twice as long, ah well she liked to gamble occasionally.

Angelus started laughing and it sent a shiver down her spine, it was one of his evil 'I know something you don't' laughs, she hated it and remembered it well, "Oh this is just too sweet, he didn't tell you did he?" _'And there it was'_ she thought

"Tell me what?" _'Great, Wesley didn't tell me something and now Angelus gets to score points because he gets to rub it in my fa_ce'

"The only way I'm telling you what I know is if your in this cage with me and I get to do what ever I want to that perfect little body of yours, that was the agreement" he gave her a wolfish smile looking her up and down so she got his point. And the look of shock on her face made it Angelus 1 Buffy 0.

Buffy covered her shock quickly, she knew exactly what he meant, he wanted her to whore herself out for his intel, Wesley and her needed to have a serious talk about sharing "I think he skipped that part"

"Come on Buff, he wouldn't take the risk of you not coming down to help, if you knew all the perks you might have said no" He knew his slayer wouldn't have said no though, she was all about helping others and self-sacrifice, she might have grown up, but down to her core, his baby hadn't changed much, which was absolutely fine by him.

"Perk? You think having sex with you for information would be a perk for me?" _'He was such an arrogant asshole'_.

"Come on Buff, I know you want me" _'the hottest arrogant asshole I've met though, god that little half smile makes me go weak in the knees... Wait, no, he's the enemy, bad Buffy, head back in the game'_

"Yeah, because I dream about you every night and all the things we could do together" Her voice held sarcasm, yet she knew if she was speaking to Angel that line would have been all too true.

"See, you can't get enough of me" Speaking as though her voice hadn't held sarcasm and she meant every word she said, god only knew it was the same for him. The only difference between his and the soul's dreams was her sense of right and wrong, With Angel she was the epiphany of good, his light in the darkness, with him she was always a very naughty girl that needed a good spanking. The tightness of his pants told him he needed to steer his thoughts in another direction.

"I would never want you Angelus, so think of something else you want because me being in that cage with you, isn't going to happen" She wasn't going to get anything off him now, she wasn't going to give him what he wanted, so no point arguing about it. She turned and started going up the stairs, she didn't turn to face him but stopped half way when he started talking to her.

Angelus was angry that she just started walking away from him and that she wouldn't just accepting his proposal, it was something he knew they both wanted, it was time to hit her where it would hurt, and he knew exactly which heart strings to pull at to do it, and which ones that would make her do what he wanted as well. "You know, Cordelia offered me the same thing I offered you, if you refuse I might just have to take her up on that offer. It'll be just as fun too, I mean, your soulful lover has been chasing after her for awhile now, he thinks he loves her, sleeping with her instead of you will hurt him just as much… hmm maybe more so" Angelus laughed to himself _'Angelus 2 with the slayer yet to score'_

Even though he kept his voice even, no mocking or humour in his voice, it still hurt to think that Angel could love another, just as she was about to get emotional she took a deep breathe and pushed it down. Angelus just made a mistake, if Cordelia already offered, then that meant that he only wanted her; if being with Cordelia really would have hurt Angel then he would have taken her offer. Slowly she turned around and walked calmly down the stairs and stood directly in front of Angelus in the cage just behind the red line.

"You know something Angelus, I wouldn't care if you fell on a stake, what makes you think I care about who you want to sleep with, I would actually prefer you take Cordelia's offer, it means I don't have to do it and if you think throwing Angel's love interests in my face will get to me, then think again. We're not together he has a right to date anyone he wants just like me, He wants Cordelia, I want Spike, I think it's a fair trade" Smiled evilly at him as she turned and walked away, plugging the camera back in as she went, his look of shock and anger after mentioning Spike had been worth it, who cares if she lied. She laughed to herself Angelus had started growling now and beating against the bars. _'He lost his cool, minus 2 points making it Angelus 0 and Buffy 2 for making him do so'_

After hearing the word Spike he knew he wouldn't be able to stay calm _'Spike? She wants SPIKE, that's ridiculous, where the hell did her standards go'_ even though he didn't need to breathe, he breathed heavily to try and stay calm, but that just resulted in more anger, he could smell Spike all over her, he didn't care if it was an old smell, she smelt like someone else, he growled and started beating against his cage, he had to get out and reclaim his mate, and find that ungrateful, back stabbing, grandchilde of his and torture him for as long as it took to get the message across that you stay away from other vampires mate's, and he hoped Spike was still as dense as was a century ago, it'll be more fun if his torture lasted longer.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The First Defeat

Summary: Angelus is out and about - but will Angel ever get back?

Disclaimer: Not mine. It's Joss'. Which sucks but we all must deal.

Rating: M same as the show – I'll let you know if it changes

Feedback: Yes please, my first fic so please go easy on me but constructive criticism is always welcome

Timeline: Just after Angelus is brought back in Season 4 and just after Buffy kills the Ubervamp in Season 7

Spoilers: Season 1 - 4 Angel and Season 1 - 7 Buffy

Author Note: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, in the middle of HSC exams, thought I'd write one to get my mind off them cos they're evil lol sorry its so short but hope you enjoy =D

Special Thanks to my wonderful beta Kim who helps me correct stuff in my writing and nags me when I don't start writing new chapters lol

Beta's note: lol I'm not that wonderful, but will promise to all of you out there reading that I'll nag more as I'm addicted to this as well. P.S. reviews kick her into gear more than I can, I try my best though

-----

"Wow Buff, what the hell did you say to him?"

That was the first thing Buffy heard once she was out of the basement.

"Nothing Gunn" she smiled innocently at him "He was being mean, so I was mean back"

Gunn just laughed _'Same old Buffy'_

The minute the monitor turned back on Gunn, Fred and Wesley immediately had their attention turned fully on the screen, and what they saw had their mouths dropping open in shock.

"Umm… Buffy, did you learn anything?" Wesley had only just come out of his haze of astonishment at Angelus' behaviour

"Yes Wesley, as a matter of fact I did" she said in a light chirpy voice but the sarcasm was clear

"Why didn't you tell me Angelus wanted sex for information?"

Wesley blushed deeply "Oh umm… I was hoping it wouldn't be an issue"

"Ah huh" _'Of coarse it'd be an issue and Angelus would bring it up… idiot'_

"Well what's done is done I guess, Wes do you have a place I could get some sleep? I've been up almost 2 days straight now"

"Ah yes this way" Wesley and Buffy both went to pick up her bags and went upstairs where Wesley led her to Angel's room. Once there Wesley left Buffy to herself and went back down to research The Beast, as he came down he heard Gunn and Fred talking about how Gunn and Buffy first met, apparently it was during her stay in L.A. after Acathla, she saved him from a group of demon's and afterwards she helped them with the occasional demon and vampires, she even introduced him to Anne who ran a kids shelter _'huh'_ Wesley thought _'small world'_


	5. Chapter 5

Special Thanks to my wonderful beta Kim who helps me correct stuff in my writing and nags me when I don't start writing new chapters lol

Author Note: Almost finished my HSC exams so yay = D may be able to do updates sooner now

**Warning:** again there is Cordy bashing can't help it I liked her til the start of the Angel/Cordy thing and ever since then I hated her because A/C is just not right – B/A all the way!!! = D

* * *

When Buffy first woke up she didn't understand where she was at first, but then it all rushed back to her…Wesley…Gunn…Angelus. She suddenly wished she'd stayed asleep longer so she wouldn't have to deal with them, but alas the slayer has a duty, she's just glad Cordelia's stayed out of her way thus far. Getting ready as quickly as possible, she dressed in a pair of black leather pants and a tight red halt neck top, and high heeled boots, she hoped her appearance would make Angelus more… co-operative then he had been of late.

Walking out of Angel's room she had to hold back a groan, she shouldn't have said anything, she jinxed it, there waddling… yes waddling down the hall towards her was Cordelia herself.

"Well look what the cat dragged in" Cordelia sneered, in her opinion her mission was to insult and put Buffy down as many times as she could while she was here.

"No Wesley brought me" Buffy figured if she could just stump Cordelia with facts it would give her insults no meaning, while also making Cordelia look stupid, not that she needed any help with that.

"That was so lame" that was also the only thing Cordelia could come up with as a come back.

"Maybe, but what's really lame is your new blonde hair colour, trust me, people already knew you were blonde you didn't have to make it obvious, or did you think Angel would give you more attention now you have blonde hair?" Buffy inwardly smiled, there was nothing Cordelia could say to put her down, Angel told her everything whenever they talked, so she basically knew every which way to bring Cordelia down a notch.

"Buffy, you're just jealous that Angel doesn't care for you anymore, he has me in his life now, Angel walked away from you and you need to get over it" Cordelia had a strong feeling that Angelus had lied to her before about Angel and Buffy talking all the time, so she was confident she hit a nerve.

"Cordelia he left me because he didn't think he could control himself around me and we would release Angelus, the fact that your still around plainly shows how much Angel cares for you that way, which by the way in case your wondering, it means not at all" Smiling smugly at Cordelia she walked away heading towards the lobby of the hotel, she had better things to do then throw insults with Cordelia all day, even though it was extremely fun.

Cordelia on the other hand was left fuming. _'Who does she think she is?!?!, I'm the one that's been here all this time, not her! I'm the one Angel's come to with his problems, I'm the one he trusts the most here; not her! She has no right to speak to me that way!'_ Cordelia also over-looked the fact that she's the one that started the bitch fest but that wasn't her problem, she'd wait til Angel got back to get her revenge, she couldn't wait to see Buffy's face when Angel came to her instead of going to Buffy.

* * *

As Buffy walked into the lobby now feeling extremely happy and Cordelia walked in behind her fuming and turning red in the face with her anger, she noticed that the AI team looked very much like her Scooby Team when they were all sitting down and researching like they were at the moment, shrugging of the thought she happily greeted everyone "Morning"

"Its night outside" Cordelia sneered behind her.

Buffy continued to look forward not even giving Cordelia the curtesy of turning around to talk to her directly "Yes Cordelia, but people generally say that when they wake up so excuse me for being traditional, plus if you look at your watch, you'll notice it is morning"

Interrupting Cordelia's reply Wesley spook "Good morning Buffy, how did you sleep?"

"Best I've had in ages" she smiled happily, she knew it was Angel's room that allowed her to sleep that well, being close to Angel always made her sleep better even if it was just his scent.

"Good, good" Wesley replied, noticing she was trying to lighten the air and pick everyone else's spirits up with her good mood. "I was wondering if you could maybe talk to Angelus again"

"That's why I'm here Wes"

"Yes but I was hoping you'd do it now, you kind of…"

"You pissed the man off the last time you where down there, he hasn't shut up once since" Gunn interrupted, that was the first time Buffy noticed the shouts coming from the basement and monitor, though the monitors volume had been turned down. Angelus was screaming threats, though his voice was becoming hoarse and he was still beating on the bars – exactly how she left him.

"Not once?" Buffy asked surprised, she'd thought his anger would have died down at least a little while she slept

"Yeah not once, it's driving me insane" Gunn replied "So will you please, for the love of God, go shut him up"

"Okay, Okay" she held her hands up in surrender at Gunn, quickly going down into the basement. They heard increased banging and yelling from Angelus and then less noise because the monitor had been turned off, then no banging and more yelling, this all happened within the space of 50 seconds, after 5 more minutes they heard nothing at all, except the occasional scream and yell now and then, everyone let out a sigh of relief finally having relative peace in the lobby again.

* * *

4 hours later Buffy was seen finally surfacing from the basement looking a little worse for wear. Her hair looked messy, like she had run her hands through it many times in frustration and she looked weary, like arguing with Angelus' took all the energy she had from sleep that morning away from her.

"Wesley you will thank me"

Wesley looked curious at Buffy waiting for her to continue

"Angelus' is ready to talk about The Beast, his waiting for you"

Wesley looked amazed at Buffy "How?"

"We had a long painful talk about the ups and downs of him being a jerk and I made it seem like the conclusion was it would be more beneficial for him if he just told you what you wanted"

"That sounds complicated" Fred commented "Now we have what we want we can put his soul back, hows that beneficial for him?"

"I don't know, I said something about while we were chasing a lead we'll be more focused on that and that could give him the edge he needed to escape, something along those lines, more reasons and more flashy and more words then that but that's the general gist" Buffy replied tiredly, Wesley went up and hugged Buffy he was so immensely happy, he just couldn't form words at the progress Buffy had made with Angelus, quickly getting his notepad and pen he went downstairs to interrogate Angelus again while everyone gathered around the monitor to watch.

Buffy tiredly went and made herself a quick meal, almost breathing it down it was gone that quickly, before heading to the stairs to go back to bed.

"Going to pack so you can go home Buffy?" Cordelia smiled at Buffy making it seem to everyone like it was a general question, but Buffy saw the triumph in her eyes at the thought of her going home.

"Bite me" Buffy remarked, too tired with her ordeal to come back with anything else.

* * *

**LOL If you can't tell: yes I let all my frustrations out on Cordy by bashing her in my stories lol**


	6. Chapter 6

Special Thanks to my wonderful beta Kim who helps me correct stuff in my writing and nags me when I don't start writing new chapters lol

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!** Hope you all have a great holidays – Sorry it took so long but now I can send it out as a Christmas present to you - Enjoy

* * *

Buffy was walking along the beach, walking just close enough for the waves to splash over her feet, when she started getting that tingling feeling she always got when Angel was around; so she stopped and watched the sunset not surprised when two arms moved and wrapped around her waist from behind, knowing it was Angel she instantly relaxed into his embrace.

"There were other ways" Angel whispered softly in her ear

"None that would have been fast enough" turning in his warm embrace she laid her head on his chest breathing in his scent and listening to his heart beat "I'm sorry"

"No matter what, I will always love you" Angel gently held her chin, tilting it up and leaned down for a kiss

"I love you" Buffy said just as their lips connected for a soft gentle kiss

As the kiss grew more passionate they failed to realise that the scenery was changing around them, as Buffy pulled away from the kiss breathless she took in her new surroundings. She was lying in her bed in her room in Sunnydale, the room looked exactly the same as it did when she was 17. Angel was sitting on the side of her bed, his fingers slowly outlining his bite mark on her neck, she looked closely at Angel, something didn't feel right… she looked into Angel's eyes noticing the evil glint in them and realised it was now Angelus.

"This makes you mine" Angelus said continuing to run his fingers along her scar

"I'm not yours, I'm Angel's" She whispered in a shaky voice, she didn't think she belonged to anyone but if it was a choice between Angelus and Angel, well Angel won hands down

"We're both the same, we both love you… in our own ways" Angelus moved his fingers slowly up her neck to her face and started to tracing the features of her face while he continued to whisper seductively to her, Buffy closed her eyes enjoying the feeling

"Of coarse you know how he feels about me… how he hates me… do you think he'll want to even look at you again after what you've done?"

Buffy eyes snapped open at Angelus' cruel but most likely true statement, meeting nothing but a blinding white light which caused her eyes to immediately snap closed again. When she tried again, slowly opening her eyes she realised that she was in an extremely white room, turning around she noticed the woman that had been standing behind her.

"We returned what we took from you, something that should have never been taken" the woman said in a kind voice

"I don't understand" Buffy said, having no idea what the lady in front of her was talking about.

"In time you will, just know that your gift is protected, do not worry about its safety" the woman answered kindly, understanding that the cryptic message must be confusing "Go, you have much that still needs to be done"

The blinding white light engulfed the room before Buffy woke up in Angel's bed at the Hyperion. Buffy laid there for a few moments trying to get her breathing and her heart beat to stop racing. "Okay, just a dream, a freaking weird and cryptically annoying dream…. But still just a dream" Buffy said to herself wiping her forehead she realised that she was drenched in sweat from her dream, getting up she decided a shower was definitely the way to go, it would help her relax and organise her thoughts.

* * *

As Buffy got dressed in her comfy blue faded jeans and a red tank top, she noticed the clock on Angel's wall and realised she'd been asleep for more then 8 hours. '_Why would no one come and wake me up? Surely they'd have something on the Beast by now'_. Then she rolled her eyes as it hit her… Cordelia.

As Buffy walked towards the lobby, she stopped just before walking out on the landing above the stairs thinking she could listen to everybody in the lobby and figure out what she'd missed.

"He's so relaxed" She heard Fred say, probably referring to the sound of Angelus quietly singing to himself that she could hear coming from the monitor

"It's like he's not even in a cage" Gunn replied

"Well, in his mind, he's not" Buffy frowned in confusion, _'who was that?'_ Peaking around the corner she saw a green demon in a suit, moving back into her hiding spot she realised that it was Lorne

"You getting anything off him?" Gunn asked Lorne

"Let me put it this way, Moonpie. You don't want to know"

"I don't, I definitely don't" Fred commented

Just then Buffy heard the front doors to the lobby swing open, quickly peaking around again she saw Wesley, Cordelia and someone who must be Conner walk in. _'Well that answers my question Cordelia probably didn't want me tagging along so convinced them to "let" me sleep'_ she thought to herself

"What happened?" Gunn asked the second they walked in

"Vamps" Conner said _'Well that explains their slightly beaten up look'_ Buffy thought

"Did they get the Svear?" Fred asked

"No, The Beast did, Slaughtered the entire family" Wesley said

"Guess he found a way to kill them after all" Fred said sounding shocked

"So much for our big priestess rescue" Gunn said

"Are we sure Angelus doesn't know anything more? I mean maybe we should talk to…"

Fred was cut of by Wesley "No, I think he's told us everything he's going to"

"Which means our last-ditch plan, turning Angel into a soulless monster, it's a bust. If Angelus can't help us … "Gunn said trailing off

"It's time to bring back Angel" Cordelia finished for him

"Oh and he's usually so chatty" Lorne said _'huh?'_ Buffy thought, quickly peaking around the corner she saw Conner heading up the stairs _'shit'_ quickly turning around she silently rushed down the hall back to Angel's room door, turning around once she reached it she took a deep breathe and then started making her way down to the lobby again like she was just coming from her room, meeting Conner half way.

"Hi you must be Conner, I'm Buffy" Buffy said holding her hand out, Conner looked at her weird before cautiously taking her hand

"Hi" Conner said giving her hand a brief shake before dropping it quickly, still cautious of her

"So I guess I over slept, what have I missed?" Buffy said trying to strike up a conversation _'wow he looks so much like Angel its almost scary'_

"They're putting Angel's soul back, Angelus had nothing useful" Conner answered briefly before making a move to pass Buffy

"Did he lead you on a wild goose chase" Buffy quickly said even though she already knew what happened she wanted to continue to talking to Conner longer

"Wild goose chase?" _'Oh right, raised in different dimension'_

"It means did he lead you to a dead end, give false info…"

"Oh, no everyone was just dead when we got there, The Beast got there before us"

"Oh… well that's bad, what's everyone's plans now?"

"They're bringing Angel back" Conner said sounding very unhappy with the idea

Buffy's frowned in confusion, she'll have to keep a closer eye on Conner, he was definitely on the 'Angel die' side of things

"Well that's good, one less baddie to worry about"

"Yeah I guess" Conner said before pushing past her and walking on to his room

Buffy watched him walk down the hall and out of sight, she definitely would be watching him more closely from now on, shaking herself out of her thoughts she continued to walk down into the lobby.

* * *

"Angel's soul… it's gone" Wesley said to everybody in the office

"What do you mean, gone" Buffy said from the doorway to the office startling everybody because they hadn't realised she was there

"It was in the safe, it's not in there anymore" Wesley said

Buffy looked as calm as Angelus did down in the cage leaning up against the door frame "So you lost Angel's soul?" Buffy let out a quick humourless laugh "That's…that's just great" She commented sarcastically "Didn't you have anything else besides the safe guarding Angel's soul? Didn't you have any protection spells?"

"We were all here, all the time, we didn't think it was necessary" Cordelia said

"Didn't think it was necessary or didn't think of it at all?" Buffy asked, trying to hold onto her calm façade and not let her intense anger at their idiotic choices show, it was bad enough they took Angel's soul away from him, now they had lost it.

"Didn't really think of it at all" Fred timidly said, realising they could have done more to protect Angel's soul

"Do you have any idea where it could be? Who could have taken it?" Buffy asked

"The Beast?" Gunn suggested

"The Shaman?" Lorne suggested at the same time

"Well I suggest we check the shaman first, I'm sure we would have noticed The Beast walking through the lobby, don't you think?" Buffy said with a hint of sarcasm, these people have no clue what they were doing without Angel here.

"Did you guys try anything else before just taking Angel's soul?" She asked the thought that had been bothering her ever since she turned up "Or was that the first thing you thought of and went with it before trying every other possible option" Buffy directed the question more at Wesley and Cordelia, knowing they were calling most of the shots around here now.

"Angelus was the only one that had the information we needed, taking his soul was the only option open to us" Wesley defended their actions

"The only option? Are you in any way kidding?" Buffy let her façade drop for the first time showing her intense anger to everyone; they had all shifted their positions slowly through the conversation. Fred, Gunn and Lorne had moved more to the side realising her anger was more directed at Wesley and Cordelia and wanting to keep it that way. Cordelia and Wesley had moved closer to Buffy, Cordelia with her hands on her hips.

"Look Buffy taking Angel's soul was the only way to talk to Angelus to find out more on the Beast-" Cordelia started a rant but Buffy cut her off

"But it wasn't the only way!" Buffy almost shouted at Cordelia "Did you try getting Angel to meditate, Angelus is always under the surface he could have maybe tried getting it that way, just bringing up the memory Angelus had"

"I'm not sure it would have been that simple Buffy…" Wesley said

Buffy cut off any excuse he would have come up with "Then there were other ways, the drug Doximall, you could have given him some then slapped a truth spell on him to make him talk, there would have been no danger of Angel's soul going missing, it would have been quick, simple-"

"And highly unpredictable" Wesley cut in "The effects of the drug, mixed with magic would have unforeseeable consequences, even if we had thought of it, it is highly unlikely we would have chosen to act on it"

"But the point is you didn't even try! You never thought to think of another way!" Buffy shouted at him, stopping she realised that causing an argument with Angel's team wasn't going to solve anything. The damage had been already done, they'd lost Angel's soul, the only thing they should be concentrating on now is getting Angel's soul back, and bringing Angel back before Angelus found a way to escape. Buffy almost shivered at that thought but fought it back; she should be concentrating on getting the team together to find Angel's soul "I'm sorry, umm… the shaman is our best bet, if he didn't take it which I don't think he did then he may be able to help us find it. Wesley you should go, you were the first to contact him, see what you can find out"

Realising a truce when he saw it Wesley went along with it realising everyone was stressed "Would you like to come along?" Wesley suggested

"No, Slayers make people nervous, from what you told me on the way here you were on good terms with him that's why I don't think he took it, bringing a Slayer along though might make him less inclined to help us find it though"

Wesley slowly nodded understanding her reasoning, besides if he did take it, they could get Buffy's help in tracking him down later, at least they'd know where it was "Cordelia get Conner, you two can come with me" Cordelia nodded at Wesley but glared at Buffy as she walked passed her and out the office door.

A few minutes later Wesley, Cordelia and Conner were off; leaving Buffy, Gunn, Fred and Lorne to mind Angelus.

"Lorne you have demon contacts right?"

"Sure thing muffin"

"Good, would you be able to go out, see what you can find out?" Buffy asked

"Awfully quiet up there" Angelus could be heard from the monitor

"Sure thing honey" Lorne quickly answered before almost running out of the hotel, wanting to be as far away from Angelus at the moment as possible

"I've had time to think and I've realised something important" Angelus could be heard continuing on the monitor "Being evil is wrong, I want to be good, I want to be Angel again" Buffy almost smirked Angelus wanting to be Angel, why couldn't he have wanted that 5 years ago it would have made her life so much simpler.

"You hear me? I'm ready"

"I'm ready too fang boy" Gunn said to himself while shooting a gout of flame across the lobby with his flame-thrower. Buffy silently added Gunn to the list of people who potentially just wanted Angel dead, making it a list of two; if you don't include the bad guys.

"He knows doesn't he? That his soul is missing"

"Probably knew before we did" Buffy answered Fred with a sad smile

"I just hope the shaman can help us" Fred commented, trying to stay positive

"That shaman should have never been brought here" Gunn said, Buffy resisted rolling her eyes, now they get that they shouldn't have brought Angelus back… after they lose Angel's soul "Now instead of just worrying about the big bad rock-eater, we got Darth Vampire living in the basement" That reminded Buffy about Sunnydale she made a mental note to call in later and make sure everything was still okay

"Bringing Angelus was our best chance"

"That you talking or Wes?" Buffy realised that they were heading into a lovers spat and slowly started retreating into a near by office

"You were pushing for it too Charles"

"Then maybe I did the wrong thing"

"Like smacking your girl around?" Angelus decided to join in from the basement having nothing else to do "I bet Wes would never hit her, he's all proper and English and that accent – oh, chicks just love a good accent. Makes 'em all buttery in their nether regions. Isn't that right, Fred?" Gunn stared at Fred but she said nothing. Buffy switched her slow retreat into a near-by office to the basement, hoping when she got down there she could keep him quiet, everybody was on edge enough without his help. Plus it would be nice not to be around clueless people for a change "You know" Angelus continued "I had a bit of an Irish brogue back in the day. If you like, I can use it on you when I rape you to death. Or" Angelus was cut off when Gunn ripped out the monitor's power cable and that's when Buffy slipped down into the basement.

* * *

"Hello Lover" Angelus says as Buffy comes down the stairs

"You're being evil" Buffy stated as she reached the bottom of the stairs referring to his comments to Gunn and Fred

"Come to spank me?" Angelus smirked when he saw her thinking about it

"As fun as it sounds I think I'll pass, I could annoy you though"

Angelus laughed "Annoy me? Just keep talking Buff you'll get there"

Buffy continued as if she didn't hear his last comment "Well I can't torture you, cause then I'd be torturing Angel and I like him more than you" Angelus growled low in his chest at that "I'll just bring a cd player down and put Barry Manilow's song Mandy on repeat. Angel likes the song, you hate it. I think it's big on the gonna annoy you big time metre" Buffy just smiled innocently at Angelus while he gave her an annoyed stare

"That's real mature Buff" Angelus rolled his eyes at her leaning against the back wall of his cage

"So did you tell them everything about the Beast like you were suppose to?"

"I told them everything they needed to know" Buffy just glared at him "What" he said innocently "If you wanted to make sure I told them **everything** then you should have been here"

"I gave you what you wanted, you should have told them everything" Buffy started but broke off half way through everything when she noticed Angelus chuckling to himself.

"I love to see you angry Buff" _'see evil'_ Buffy thought to herself.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who as been reading and/or reviewing my story, love you guys =] If your confused about the dream its okay - will be explained..... later lol


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